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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1. S. B. ALDRICH.

BELT SHORTENER AND TIGHTBNER FOR THRASHING MACHINES. No. 330,542.

\ Patented Nov. 1'7, 1885.

T NZ 1' 5 w M .dttorneys (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

s. B. ALDRICH.

BELT SHORTENER AND TIGHTENER FOR THRA SHING MACHINES.

No. 330,542. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

WITNESSES Mrs STATES SEWARD B. ALDRICH, OF THURSTON, NEV YORK.

BELT SHORTENER AND TIGHTENER FOR THRASHING-MACHINES.

, @PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,5&2,dated November 17, 1885.

Application filed October 1, 1885.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SEWARD B. ALDRICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Thurston, in the county of Steuben and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Belt Shorteners and Tighteners for Threshing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to an improvement in belt shorteners and tighteners for thrashingmachines; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my invention applied to the driving-belt of a thrashingmachine. Fig. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the jack, the idle-pulley and snatch-block, the take-up, and tighteningrope. Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the idle-pulley on the thrashing-machine, in use as a reel for the belt.

A represents a portable thrashing-machine of the usual construction, and B represents the usual portable steam-engine employed to furnish motive power to drive the machine. The fly-wheel B of the engine is connected to the driving-pulley A of the thrashing-Inachine by means of the usual endless belt, 0. This belt is about sixty feet long, that being the usual distance at which the engine is placed from the thrashing-machine; but it very frequently becomes necessary to shorten the distance between the engine and thrasher, and, where no other provision is made for shortening the belt, the latter has to be ripped at its connected ends and resewed when shortened.

The object of my invention is to provide means for shortening and tightening the belt without the necessity of ripping and resewing the same, and without having to move either the thrasher or the engine. I

a represents a pulley on a shaft, b, journaled in front of the thrasher, out of the way, the pulley a being in line with the driving-pulley of the thrasher.

Drepresents a jack composed of a sill, d, and standards 0. These standards are provided Serial No. 178,780. (No model.)

on one side with a series of downwardly-inclined open slots or notches, f, in which the shaft or spindles g of an idle-pulley, h, may be journaled at any desired height from the ground. A snatch-block, z, is connected to the spindles of pulley h by means of arms It.

When the belt is to be shortened, instead of only passing over the driving-pulley,as at full length, it is passed over the driving-pulley and under the idle-pulley a, forming a loop, in which the pulley h is placed and drawn toward the engine until the belt is tight, and then placed in the jack, as shown at Fig. 1. To support the latter, a rope, Z, has one end made fast to the front axle of the engineframe, and its free end is then passed through one eye of a take-up device, an, made substantially in the shape of a figure 8, over the snatch-block, and then fastened to the other eye of the take-up.

To tighten the belt, it is only necessary to take hold of the rope at the take-up and pull from the thrasher. This can be most easily done when the machine is in motion. The take-up slips back freely on the rope and binds thereon when released, as will be very readily understood.

WVhen it is desired to remove the thrasher to another place, the belt can be reeled up on the idle-pulley a, the endless belt connecting said pulleys and looped between pulleys A and a, and the idle-pulley h in the loop, j ournaled in a movable support, for tightening or shortening the belt, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the pulleys B and A, the idle-pulley a, the endless belt connecting said pulleys and looped between pulleys A and a, and the idle-pulley h in the loop, of the jack having the series of open inclined slots to receive the spindles or shaft of pulley h, to support the latter, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the pulleys B and A, the idle-pulley ,a, the endless belt connecting said pulleys and looped between pulleys A and a, the idle-pulley h in the loop and the snatch-block attached thereto, the movable the endless driving-belt when the machine is 10 jacks in which pulley his mounted, and the not in operation, substantially as described.

rope secured at one end to a fixed point and In testimony that I claim the foregoing as the other end passed through the snatch-block 5 my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in and secured to a takeup, whereby the endless presence of two witnesses.

belt may be shortened or tightened, substan- SEWARD B. ALDRICH. tially as described. Witnesses:

4. The idle-pulley a, attached to a thrash- KEYES E. WHITMORE,

ing-machine, and adapted for use as a reel for WILLIAM C. MASSEY. 

